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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling it left you with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it reveals itself slowly and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.  

When the Seattle-based band Car Seat Headrest released their 2016 album Teens of Denial, I found myself enamored. This band seemed to come out of nowhere. Their sound felt original, new, sonically tight, and lyrically tight. Like lots of listeners, I found myself hungry for more. Since discovering I was late to the party, I have added three more albums to my collection and watched as they opened for Death Cab for Cutie at the Hollywood Bowl. I am doing my best to catch up.   

One of those albums demanding my attention was 2020s Making a Door Less Open. In this expansive collection of songs, a couple of themes stick out to me. The first theme centers on an openness or willingness to change. The second theme focuses on a life in transition. In my mind, these are fascinating topics to marry together. They provide ample space to ponder and wonder.  

Changes and transitions define our lives much more than the mundane and the routine. Looking back as we age, the major milestones or “fork in the road moments” will be the spaces in time we remember. We will not recall the hours chained at a desk or the time spent commuting to work. We will remember moving away from our hometown, graduating college, starting our first job, falling in love, getting married, buying a house, having kids, and a thousand other brief moments. There will also be heartbreak, unexpected news, and things that did not go our way.  

When I listen to this album, I hear a reminder to be open to these moments, both the good and the bad. Our lives are constantly transitioning between the crests of extreme highs and the valleys of lows you might feel are beyond your capabilities. Standing in these moments, it might be hard to vocalize appreciation, but I think this album serves as a reminder to do just that.  

Best,  

Nathan  

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